Oil fell this week as prospects for a global economic slowdown weighed heavily on the demand outlook.
West Texas Intermediate futures dropped 6.7 percent for the week amid tightening monetary policy and renewed anti-COVID-19 lockdowns in China, as traders shrugged off an announcement by G7 leaders of plans to cap the price of Russian crude in retaliation for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression in Ukraine.
West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery closed on Friday up 0.3 percent to US$86.87, while Brent Crude for October delivery rose 0.71 percent to US$93.02, falling 7.53 percent from a week earlier.
The G7 move is largely symbolic “as the Russians are proving capable of circumventing restrictions already imposed by the G7 countries, and hitting a record high export volume in August despite sanctions,” analysts at wholesale-fuel distributor TACenergy wrote in a note to clients.
On Friday, prices briefly rebounded after the US Department of State said the Iran’s latest response to nuclear-deal proposals was “not constructive.”
The talks are being closely watched by oil traders because any deal to relax sanctions could allow more Iranian crude to flow into markets.
Oil fell by more than 20 percent in the three months through last month, erasing all of the gains since Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine.
The price retreat poses a challenge for OPEC and its allies, with ministers due to meet tomorrow to plan output policy. While OPEC-watchers expect the group to keep supplies steady, Saudi Arabian Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman raised the possibility of a production cut in remarks last week.
Widely watched time spreads, an indicator of market tightness, have been volatile. Brent’s prompt spread — the difference between its nearest two contracts — was US$1.21 a barrel in a backwardation, compared with almost US$2 a barrel at the end of last week and US$0.63 two weeks ago.
Taiwanese firms have increased investment in the Philippines in recent years as Manila’s ties with Washington deepen and global supply chains continue to shift away from China, an expert at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. The Philippines had not been among Taiwanese investors’ top choices in Southeast Asia, CIER Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center director Kristy Hsu (徐遵慈) said at a seminar in Taipei. However, Taiwan’s investment in the country has grown significantly since the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching US $257 million last year, a high in recent years, she said. Although Taiwan’s total investment in the Philippines still lags
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